I really need to work on decluttering my pantry multiple times a time year but for now, going through it once a year definitely helps. It can be surprising what foods you find in the back of your shelves. A little cleaning and organization this week might help you have a lot less food waste in the long run.

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Step 1: Gather

There are multiple ways you could go about gathering all your pantry foods this week.

I like to go shelf by shelf. Take all the food from one shelf out, ask the questions, and make quick decisions. Then I will wipe down the shelf to clean it and put the foods I am keeping back in an organized fashion.

Depending on how your pantry is organized (or if it’s not organized at all) you may want to gather foods by category. For example, take all the oils, bottles of vinegar, sauces, etc out at the same time. Then separate out the boxes of pasta, cereals, and cans.

Tip: Declutter your pantry BEFORE your weekly grocery haul.

Step 2: Ask Questions

Once you’ve gathered the food from your pantry ask the following questions;

Is it expired?

Do I like it?

Should this item be in a pantry?

Will we actually use it?

Can these boxes be combined?

Do I know what it even is?

How many __ do we really need?

Step 3: Decide

Now is the time to decide what food items in your pantry you will be keeping.

For the items you have decided to not keep you have options. If it is expired you should throw it away or compost it and recycle its container if possible. If the food item is not expired then consider giving the item away to friends or family or donating the food to a food pantry.

Here are some of the top items that food pantries love receiving;

• Boxed Milk
• Canned Foods with Pop-Tops
• Oil
• Spices
• Tea Bags and Coffee
• Sugar and Flour
• Crackers
• Cake Mix
• Frosting
• Dishwasher Detergent

Bonus Steps: Clean & Organize

While you have the food out of your pantry I recommend taking the time to clean your shelves.

Then organize the food you are keeping when putting it back on the shelves. Using clear bins, lazy susans, stackable shelf organizers, etc can be an inexpensive way to help you find food in your pantry easier and to use it up before it expires.

I hope you join me next week for our next category of the Declutter Challenge!

Go back to Declutter Challenge Week 6: Audio and Visual Entertainment